The short answer
Read about 3¼ chapters, or 9 minutes, a day from January 1 to December 31, 2027, and you’ll finish all 1,189 chapters. The table below gives each month’s reading, its dates and a checkpoint for the 15th. If you fall behind, don’t double up; let the plan run into January 2028.
How much do you read each day?
The Bible has 1,189 chapters and 2027 has 365 days, so the plan comes to 3.26 chapters a day, or about 9 minutes at an average reading pace. If you’d rather count chapters, read three on weekdays and four on Saturdays and Sundays. In 2027 that finishes on December 28, with three days to spare.
Most people need a little more than the average, so plan on 10 to 15 minutes. This is the same plan as our month-by-month guide to reading the Bible in a year, with the dates of 2027 added. Each month holds about the same amount of reading, so the time stays steady even when the chapter count jumps.
The 2027 Bible reading plan, with dates
Print this table or take a screenshot, and keep it in your Bible. The third column shows the chapter to finish by the 15th, so you can see mid-month whether you’re on pace.
| Dates | Read | By the 15th | Chapters |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1–31 | Genesis and Exodus | Genesis 46 | 90 |
| February 1–28 | Leviticus and Numbers | Numbers 6 | 63 |
| March 1–31 | Deuteronomy to Ruth | Joshua 7 | 83 |
| April 1–30 | 1 Samuel to 1 Kings | 2 Samuel 14 | 77 |
| May 1–31 | 2 Kings to 2 Chronicles | 1 Chronicles 15 | 90 |
| June 1–30 | Ezra to Psalms 72 | Job 19 | 147 |
| July 1–31 | Psalms 73 to Isaiah 39 | Proverbs 21 | 168 |
| August 1–31 | Isaiah 40 to Lamentations | Jeremiah 19 | 84 |
| September 1–30 | Ezekiel to Jonah | Ezekiel 40 | 91 |
| October 1–31 | Micah to Luke 9 | Matthew 20 | 89 |
| November 1–30 | Luke 10 to Romans | John 21 | 80 |
| December 1–31 | 1 Corinthians to Revelation | 1 Timothy 5 | 127 |
Read for your minutes each day and mark where you stopped. You don’t need to land on an exact chapter. June and July look huge only because the psalms are short; the reading time stays at 8 to 9 minutes all year.
If you’d rather not read straight through, how to read the Bible compares this order with chronological and book-by-book reading.
Landmarks in the year
A long plan is easier with a few places to look forward to. At this pace, you’ll reach these around the dates shown:
- February 1: Leviticus. With Numbers, this is where many plans stall, so keep your minutes and read the lists at a steady pace.
- June 21: the Psalms. The chapters turn short, so you’ll cover more of them each day.
- June 30: the end of Psalm 72, and half the Bible by word count.
- October 8: Matthew. More than three quarters of the Bible is behind you.
- December 26: Revelation, the last book.
What to do when you fall behind
At some point you probably will. One rule covers it: don’t double up. Long catch-up days turn a habit into a chore, and that’s when most plans end. Here’s what to do instead:
| If you miss | Do this |
|---|---|
| A day or two | Skip to today’s reading and keep going. Note what you skipped and read it when you reach the end. |
| A week or two | Pick up where you stopped and let the dates slide. A week behind means finishing around January 7, 2028. |
| A month or more | Start again at the current month, then read the months you missed in early 2028. |
Finishing in 2028 still means you read the whole Bible. In the study behind our guide to how long it takes to build a habit, one missed day didn’t undo people’s progress, and the dates here are only a help.
Psalm 1 compares someone who keeps returning to God’s word to “a tree planted by the streams of water, that produces its fruit in its season” (Psalm 1:3). Growth like that runs on seasons, so a late finish costs you nothing.
Can you start after January 1?
Yes. The simplest way is to begin at Genesis on whatever day you start and keep the same order, so the plan runs for a year from that day. If you’d rather finish by December 31, 2027, read a little longer each day:
| Each day | Takes about | Start by |
|---|---|---|
| 10 minutes | 10½ months | February 17 |
| 15 minutes | 7 months | June 3 |
| 20 minutes | 5¼ months | July 26 |
| 30 minutes | 3½ months | September 17 |
These dates assume an average reading pace and no missed days, so give yourself some room.
Where do Lent and Easter fall in the plan?
In 2027, Ash Wednesday is February 10 and Easter is March 28. On this plan, Lent takes you from the end of Leviticus through Numbers, Deuteronomy and Joshua into Judges, and the Gospels don’t arrive until October.
If you want to read the Easter story at Easter, add one chapter of Mark on each of three days: Mark 14 on Thursday, March 25, Mark 15 on Good Friday, March 26, and Mark 16 on Easter Sunday. Together they take about 12 minutes, and the plan carries on as usual around them.
Common questions
What should I read on January 1, 2027?
Start at Genesis 1. January covers Genesis and Exodus, and about 9 minutes a day takes you to Genesis 46 by the 15th.
How many chapters a day do I need to read to finish the Bible in 2027?
About 3¼. Three chapters on weekdays and four on weekends takes you through all 1,189 chapters by December 28.
Is it too late to start a 2027 Bible reading plan?
No. Start today and let the plan run for a year, or read longer each day to finish by December 31. At 15 minutes a day, you can start as late as June 3.